Consumer Attitudes Toward Mobile Marketing and Customers

International Journal of Information, Business and Management, Vol. 7, No.2, 2015

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Consumer Attitudes toward Mobile Marketing and Its Impact on Customers

Dr. Seema Varshney, Asst Professor Waljat College of Applied Sciences, Muscat

Joyce Joy, MBA IV Semester Waljat College of Applied Sciences, Muscat Abstract Marketing is connecting with the customers and trying to reach the potential customers. A message sent through mobile device is an opportunity for that business service to place itself in front of the consumer. Large or small business, mobile marketing is being adopted to move forward to capture and have an impact on customers buying decision. This paper focuses on studying the attitude amongst different occupations, nationalities and gender towards mobile marketing communication. The paper also attempts to study the impact of mobile marketing messages on the buying intention of the consumer. The study focuses on attitude among college students, professionals and home makers towards mobile marketing communication. Consumer attitudetowards mobile marketing communication between male and female is also studied. Key words: Mobile marketing, marketing communication, buying intention, customer buying decision.

Introduction The technological developments have created new media channels for marketing. High usage of mobile devices and easily accessible high speed wireless network makes marketers interested to use this medium as a means of marketing. Marketing is about connection with the customers and trying to convince them to invest their time and money in your services. To reach customers the small and large marketers need to use mobile marketing channels. A message send through mobile marketing is an opportunity for that service to place itself in front of the consumer. Large or small mobile marketing is being adopted by business to move forward to capture and have an impact on customers buying decision. Consumers are using their mobile devices to not only call or text friends but also using these devices to conduct research on various services offered. Consumers always look for ways to save and compare products through their devices while they are in the stores or just about to make a purchase decision. Theoretical Concepts and Framework Mobile marketing is using mobile devices for marketing purpose. Marketing communication is done through the mobile medium as means of marketing communication. Advertising or promotional messages are sent to the customers by using wireless networks to provide customer time and location based personalized services and ideas which add value to customers. Mobile marketing is done through wireless medium; marketing by any computer connection to a home local area network is not a part of mobile marketing. Mobile marketing is done through mobile devices such as E-Readers, tablets, smart phones, portable entertainment players and GPS devices. Types of mobile marketing will include


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SMS, MMS, mobile applications, location based services, QR codes, Voice marketing, pay per call mobile, mobile banner ads and Bluetooth wireless proximity based marketing. (wikipedia ) A mobile device is electronic devices that are small and are handheld computing device that has an operating system and run various types of application software. These devices can be operated by Wi-Fi, blue tooth, GPS capabilities that allow internet connections. Mobile devices such as E-readers help the marketers to promote their product on the reading devices such as sony reader, amazon kindle. Tablets arenotebooks which is a type of computer. This is very convenient for the consumers to use and is being used by large number of people such as anipad. Smartphones is a combination of a mobile phone and a handheld computer in a single device such as blackberry, iphones. These use internet of low rater and hence people subscribe for internet packages on these devices which is can be used as an opportunity by the marketer to reach the consumers. Portable Entertainment players are mp3 players and are used for playing games. These can be connected to the network and this can be used by marketers to provide applications or brand information. GPS and navigation devices receive signals to determine where the device is currently located on the earth. They have maps which direct the user to reach the desired destination. Marketers can use this for providing location based services. (harpsocial) Types of mobile marketing channels include SMS which are in form of text messages. The marketers can use this channel to send relevant promotional text messages.Eg: Get 15% off for dinning in tonight from 7pm to 10pm at Chillis. MMS include an audio, video and images. Marketers can use this multiple media elements for their promotional messages. Mobile applications will have ads inside an application design. The consumers just have to download the desired apps and can receive updates and promotional messages in these apps.Eg: Zara has an app in the app world. I would just have to download this app and get news about latest offers or new stock in. Bluetooth wireless proximity based marketing is like TV advertising on cable which is used through network channels. The ad or a message will only display for that particular area or location which is picked up by the wireless devices. In location based marketing the user of the mobile device is send message according to the location via GPS technology. QR Codes allow the consumers to quickly scan the bar code and view the ad on their devices. Voice marketing is calling numbers through a computer managed list, when the call is answered it plays a pre-recorded message. Mobile banner ads are same like ads for desktop web pages but these mobile ads are much smaller which fit on a mobile screen and run on mobile content network. It’s basically a website with an ad when seen on a mobile device. (harpsocial)(papimedia) Attitude is an important concept in marketing for doing any kind of research. An attitude is defined by schiffmanas “A learned predisposition to behave in a consistently favorable or unfavorable way with respect to a given object.” Attitude as an object in relation to consumer orientation is referred as marketing related concepts such as a product, product category, brand, service, product use.Attitude are learned through direct experience or through perceived. Attitude has consistency as it is consistent with behavior but attitudes are not permanent, they do change. Attitude can occur or be affected by the situation. Situation maybe events or circumstances that at a particular point of time influence relationship between attitude and behavior.


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Mobile marketing can help to develop a positive attitude towards a brand. Mobile device user has increased drastically and people receive ads, promotions and offers on these devices. (Philip kotler, 2010) Consumers are the final or the ends users who use the product or services. A consumer can be a group of people or an individual. A consumer may purchase the products or services for personal use and not for reselling or for manufacturing. Brand according to Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong a brand is defined as “a name, term, sign symbol or a combination of these, that identifies the maker or seller of the product” A brand can be a symbol, a design, name or any kind of distinct feature of the service that can be used by the marketer to create an identity for the service. Branding can be implemented through mobile marketing to make an impact on the consumers about services offered.(learnmarketing) Literature Review In the research paper “consumer responsiveness to mobile marketing” it has been studied that digital marketing channels have increased and have become an opportunity for the marketers to reach the consumers. These channels help in interaction as well as personalisation of content on messages. With large number of media options it is difficult to get attention of consumers. This research studies consumers’ responsiveness to mobile marketing communication particularly SMS and MMS. The paper states that consumer responsiveness is a perceived relevance of the marketing message on the disturbance/acceptance of the context of receiving the message. A relevance/disturbance framework can measure the effectiveness of mobile marketing communication. The result of the study implicates that responsiveness of consumers towards mobile marketing varies. The responsiveness towards mobile marketing is lower that direct mail and commercial mail. There are a large number of consumers who showed low responsiveness but there are consumers who show positive response. (Strandvik) According to the author Hans H. Bauer in his research “driving consumer acceptance of mobile marketing” states that with increasing mobile phones users and the high speed wireless technology a large number of companies investing in mobile marketing is increasing day by day. This research studies the factors on how customers accept mobile phones as a means of communication for promotional messages. This study has hypotheses which include determinants referring to consumer personality and referring to form of advertising. Hypothesis such as the more positive the attitude toward mobile marketing the higher the behavioural intention to adopt mobile marketing and the more positive the subjective perception of social norms concerning the adoption of mobile marketing the higher the behavioural intention to adopt mobile marketing. This hypothesis is empirically tested by using a linear structural equation model. The empirical results that entertainment value and information value is the strongest acceptance of mobile phone for advertising or promotional communication. (hans.H.bauer, 2005) In the research paper “Mobile marketing using a location based service”,Christopher Ververidis and George C. Polyzos are presenting a business model for Location Based Service which can be incorporated into the mobile web. Mobile marketing can be used for location based service. With today’s world moving in fast pace everybody demands or needs information at fast speed. The demand stands as “anywhere anytime information”. Location Based Service (LBS) is one such solution to this demand of satisfying the user


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needs. This study describes the architecture of the information system which supports the proposed service. Software is implemented using an environment which feeds the location information for this particular service. There are numerous wireless applications available today, but people are still demanding for a “killer” wireless application. One such solution is the LBS which have been discussed in this paper. This study results in an information system which is done through Location Based Service for the mobile marketing and a suitable business model to support this service.(Polyzos) In this paper “Mobile marketing research: The-state-of-the-art”, KaanVarnali states that the potential of business in mobile marketing has attracted many researchers from different areas to give their contributions regarding mobile marketing. There is lot of literature of this but still the research is in the early stages. This paper studies how to classify and organize mobile marketing literature and analyze the state of the art in order to help bring out growth and development. This study has reviewed journal articles from various journals which were published in year 2000- 2008. The study results in the progress of mobile marketing research and it gives in a framework which helps in giving a direction for future research. (Kaan Varnali∗, 2012) This research investigates “young consumer’s motive for using SMS and perceptions towards SMS advertising”. This research studies the young consumer’s usage frequency and attitude towards sms advertising. Consumers have various motives for using SMS. Frequency varies in different age groups and the attitude towards SMS advertisement. SMS advertising has become popular and its advantages such as cost effectiveness and broad channelization is very helpful for marketing. SMS is a very convenient medium which involves social involvement, enjoyment, personal communication. It is very stable and allows public expression The factor analysis done on the motives of the young consumers resulted in a few factors such as convenience, social involvement, enjoyment, escape, personal communication, economical reasons, and public expression. It is difficult to understand motives of using SMS and SMS being used as an advertising or promotion tool , as very little research has been done to conclude the true nature of this relationship. The study concludes the reasons that have an impact of the sms usage frequency are convenience and economic factors. SMS advertising is also influenced through social factors. (Ian Phau,1980 ) In this research paper “Consumer attitudes toward mobile advertising: an empirical study” investigates the growth, expansion and popularity of mobile phones and other mobile devices has set path for a complete new track in terms of marketing channels. The emerging use of short message services (SMS) has gained so much popularity making it a perfect and an effective medium for one to one marketing. This research studies the attitude towards mobile advertising and the bonding between attitude and behaviour. An instrument for attitudes towards mobile advertising is developed. The surveys that have been done have indicates results stating consumers have developed a negative attitude towards mobile advertising unless they have specifically requested or subscribed for it or if they have given their consent for receiving such advertising updates. There is a definite correlation between consumer attitude and consumer behaviour hence it is inevitable to get the prior permission of the consumer for such mobile advertising which will be more effective.(Melody M. Tsang)


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According to the author Stuart J. Barnes in the research paper “Mobile marketing: the role of permission and acceptance” there is a tremendous base that has been developed for business services due to the advance growth and convergence of distributed networks and wireless communications. Mobile marketing is a key aspect in the consumer markets. The convenience, ease of interactivity and the mobility of the wireless devices provides a sound platform for marketing. The personal and ever-present nature of devices means the interactivity can be provided at any point of time at any desired place. The acceptance by the consumers is still the issue that has overcome in order resolve and set a smooth path for mobile marketing. The paper conceptualists’ key attributes for mobile marketing that is permission and recognition. The paper concludes with the forecasting on the future of mobile marketing and some core areas for additional research.(Stuart J, 2004) According to the research “ The influence of personalization in affecting consumer attitudes towards mobile advertising in china” done by David Jingjun Xu is that the frequent usage of mobile phones has resulted in the using of handheld devices to conduct mobile commerce and with the web's interactive and quick response capabilities has ensured to the growth of mobile commerce applications.Right on top in mobile commerce would be mobile advertising. SMS has been a stand out service in the current practice of mobile marketing. As per the author the existing research investigates the factors that will hinder consumer attitudes towards mobile advertising in china with particular zoom in on personalization. The results of the survey throws light upon the relationship between consumer attitude and intentions of the consumer and personalization is a key factor in affecting consumers' attitude towards mobile advertising, particularly for female users. Hence it is important that the designers and the marketing decision makers should effectively strategize their advertising designs considering the personalization factor.(Xu, 2006/2007) Significance of Study The significance of the study is to understand the consumer attitude towards the various mobile marketing mediums. People today are connected more than ever and most are addicted to their mobile devices; marketers can use this medium to ensure they reach their consumers. Mobile marketing provides marketers and business to connect more closely to customers. Business services target mobile marketing and reach more number of audiences. It would provide the marketers with new opportunities. Mobile marketing is been largely adopted by small and large services and are spending time to develop and execute mobile marketing strategy. It is important for the marketer to know if the consumer is being able to accept and adopt to such a communication. It is important for the marketer to know the impact of mobile messages on the buying intention of the consumer or if it is having a negativeimpact on the consumers inform of disturbance and as an invasion to their privacy. The screens of these devices are small but the worlds they open are huge. Objectives of the Study

1. To study the attitude towards mobile marketing among college students, professionals and house makers. 3. To compare the attitude towards mobile marketing between male and female. 4.To study the impact of mobile marketing messages on the buying intention of the consumer.


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Scope of the Study Understanding the attitude of the consumers towards mobile marketing communication and understanding how these affect the consumers and their buying intensions. This study is focuses on the college students, professionals and home makers attitude towards mobile marketing in the business services area. This studies the impact of mobile marketing messages on the buying intention of the consumer.

Research Methodology Research Design “A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure.”(Research methodology)

Nature of research It is a Quantitative study to understand the consumer’s attitude towards mobile marketing and its impact on consumers in services sector in Oman. Type of research It is a descriptive research design. Descriptive Research design includes conducting survey and finding facts of various types. In this method the researcher has no control over the variables. (Research methodology) Sampling Design Sampling is a method of collecting information about the entire population by studying only a part of it. Sampling: Process of obtaining information about an entire population by examining only a part of it.(Research methodology) Sampling Technique:Non-Probability – Convenience Sampling. Sample Size: 100 respondents

Data Collection Method(s) Sources of data: Primary and Secondary. Data collection Instruments: The data for this research is collected through Survey Method – Questionnaires.

Limitations to the Study The study is limited to Oman only. There are various factors that affect the attitude of consumers towards mobile marketing but in this we have limited it to gender, nationalities, house makers and professionals. Data Analysis

Respondents Profile

Table 1 Sex

Frequency Percentage

Male 36 36.0

Female 64 64.0

Total 100 100.0


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Analysis: This table shows that 36% of the respondents were male and 64% were females. Analysis: This table shows the different ages groups, 18-24 are the youngsters, 25-35 and 36-45 and above 45 are middle aged group. 31% youngsters and in the group of 25-35 34%, 36-45 26% and above 45 9% have responded.

Table 3 Occupation


College Student 40 40.0

Professional 40 40.0

Homemaker 20 20.0

Total 100 100.0

Analysis: This figure shows the occupations of the respondents, out of which there were 20% homemakers, 40% professionals and 40% college students.

Table 4 Devices used by the respondents.


Tablets 17 17.0

Smartphones 53 53.0

Entertainment player

3 3.0

GPS devices 2 2.0

None of the above 5 5.0

More than 2 20 20.0

Total 100 100.0

Interpretation: Majority of the respondents use Smartphone’s and tablets. Most of them use more than 2 devices. Very few of them do not use any of the above devices.

Reliability Cronbach's Alpha For Attitude: Attitude is “A learned predisposition to behave in a consistently favorable or unfavorable

Table 2 Age


18-24 31 31.0

25-35 34 34.0

36-45 26 26.0

Above 45 9 9.0

Total 100 100.0


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way with respect to a given object.” Attitude is a feeling of like or dislike towards a particular object. The Statements to understand consumer’s attitude towards mobile marketing by using Cronbachs Alpha test are:

• I find receiving advertisements as sms/mms on mobile devices useful.

• I find mobile marketing plays a vital role in marketing of any business.

• I find receiving advertisements such as sms/mms very informative and gives me knowledge about current offers and promotions taking place.

• I respond to the messages I get by further going online through my mobile devices and checking for more information.

• I like to scan QR codes to view the advertisements.

• I find mobile shopping convenient and entertaining than traditional shopping.

• I find shopping through mobile devices interesting and have a positive view.

• I find doing banking easier through mobile applications rather than traditional methods.

• I like receiving mobile marketing messages on my mobile devices.

• I find it easier to recall those brands who have sent me marketing messages about their service.

• When I receive messages about the various services offered by a service provider it creates a brand image in my mind.

The reliability of the above statements was tested by using Cronbach’s Alpha Value. It was found to be .843.

Table 5 Reliability Statistics

Cronbach’s Alpha N of Items

.843 11

Cronbach's Alpha For Acceptance: Acceptance is a behavioral aspect towards any condition. Thestatements to understand consumers acceptance towards mobile marketing by using Cronbachs Alpha test are:

• Acceptance of mobile marketing messages would be more favourable if the sender gets permission beforehand from the receiver.

• Acceptance of mobile marketing messages would be more if the content of marketing messages is relevant to me.

• Acceptance of mobile marketing messages would decrease if the messages are sent to me at non-suitable timings.

• Acceptance of mobile marketing messages would be more favourable if the marketing messages are specific to my location such as area of residence or work place.

• Mobile marketing is the easiest way of communication between companies offering various services and the customer.


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• Acceptance of mobile marketing messages would be unfavourable to me as I feel uncomfortable about the security issues when companies sent messages about their services.

• When I feel satisfied with the marketing message received on the various services, I tend to forward to my friends.

• When I receive messages about the various services offered by a brand, it does not have any impact on the brand image.

• The reliability of the above statements was tested by using Cronbach’s Alpha Value. It was found to be .711


Cronbach's Alpha

N of Items

.711 8

Cronbach's Alpha For Acceptance is .711 Cronbach's Alpha For Buying Intentions: Buying Intensions means planning to make a purchase of any good or service. The statements to understand if mobile marketing has an impact on customers buying intention by using Cronbachs Alpha test are:

• The marketing messages such as SMS/MMS sent to me on various services offered has made a clear impact on my buying decision.

• On receiving marketing message of any particular business service sent on my mobile device attracts me to make a purchase.

• I have made a purchase after getting influenced on receiving marketing message about a business service on my mobile device.

The reliability of the above statements was tested by using Cronbach’s Alpha Value . It was found to be .865

Cronbach's Alpha For Buying Intentions is .865 Relationship between Attitude, Acceptance, and buying intention with Gender, Nationality and Occupation. Relationship between Occupation and Attitude towards mobile marketing: Statement: I find mobile advertising plays a vital role in marketing of any business.

Cross tabulation Table 8


Cronbach's Alpha

N of Items

.865 3


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Occupation Total

College Student

Professional

Homemaker

I find mobile marketing plays a vital role in marketing of any business

Strongly Disagree

2 1 0 3

Disagree 3 3 1 7 Neutral 8 7 4 19

Agree 14 24 12 50

Strongly Agree 13 5 3 21

Total 40 40 20 100

Interpretation: Professionals have a little more favorable attitude on mobile marketing as a vital role in marketing than the college students and homemakers. Since professionals are working it is easier and convenient for them to receive marketing messages in their mobile device. Hence Attitude remains unchanged in different occupations. Relationship between Gender and Attitude towards mobile advertising: Statement: I find mobile advertising plays a vital role in marketing of any business. Cross tabulation Table 9 Sex Total

Male Female

I find mobile marketing plays a vital role in marketing of any business

Strongly Disagree

2 1 3

Disagree 4 3 7

Neutral 5 14 19

Agree 21 29 50 Strongly Agree 4 17 21

Total 36 64 100

Interpretation:This shows that majority of both male and female find mobile marketing is vital for any business as it makes the customers aware about the new products or latest offers. There is a more favorable attitude observed in both males and females towards mobile marketing irrespective of the gender.Hence there is no change in attitude for mobile marketing in gender as both male and female have a positive attitude towards mobile marketing. Relationship between Occupation and Acceptance towards mobile marketing: Statement: When I feel satisfied with the marketing message received on the various services, I tend to forward to my friends. Cross tabulation

Table 10 Occupation Total


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College Student

Professional Homemaker

When I feel satisfied with the marketing message received on the various services, I tend to forward to my friends.

Strongly Disagree

9 1 2 12

Disagree 8 7 3 18

Neutral 13 18 6 37 Agree 9 6 9 24


Total 40 40 20 100

Interpretation: Homemakers have more acceptances with the marketing message received on the various services and also forward to friends as they have the time to read the messages. College student are not too keen in accepting marketing messages. Hence acceptance remains unchanged in different occupations. Relationship between Gender and Acceptance towards mobile marketing: Statement: When I feel satisfied with the marketing message received on the various services, I tend to forward to my friends. Cross tabulation Table 11 Sex Total

Male Female

When I feel satisfied with the marketing message received on the various services, I tend to forward to my friends.

Strongly Disagree

3 9 12

Disagree 3 15 18

Neutral 15 22 37

Agree 10 14 24

Strongly Agree 5 4 9

Total 36 64 100

Interpretation: This study shows that males have more acceptances on mobile marketing than females. As less females agree that they feel satisfied with the marketing message received on the various services and tend to forward to friends as well as the disagree percentage for females(38%) is more compared to males(16%). Hence there is no change in acceptance for mobile marketing in gender.

Relationship betweenOccupation and Buying Intention towards mobile marketing: Statement: On receiving marketing message of any particular business service sent on my mobile device attracts me to make a purchase. Cross tabulation Table 12 Occupation Tot


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Interpretation: Professionals have received marketing message of business service sent on mobile device and has attracted them to make a purchase more than homemakers. Hence buying intensions remains unchanged in different occupations.

Interpretation: There is not much difference among the males and females on receiving marketing message of any business service sent mobile device that attracted to make a purchase. Hence there is no change in buying intentions for mobile marketing in gender. Summary of findings of the study Majority of the respondents use Smartphone’s and tablets. Most of them use more than 2 devices and only 5% do not use any of the above devices. Majority of the respondents have used online shopping and mobile banking services. Most of the respondents have used more than 2 of these services. 75% of the respondentsfindssms/mms useful and very few of the respondents do not agree with the usefulness of sms/mms.

College Student

Professional Homemaker al

On receiving marketing message of any particular business service sent on my mobile device attracts me to make a purchase

Strongly Disagree

1 3 1 5

Disagree 6 9 6 21

Neutral 9 8 4 21 Agree 20 18 7 45


Total 40 40 20 100

Relationship betweenGender and Buying Intentions towards mobile marketing: Statement:On receiving marketing message of any particular business service sent on my mobile device attracts me to make a purchase. Cross tabulation Table 13 Sex Total

Male Female

On receiving marketing message of any particular business service sent on my mobile device attracts me to make a purchase

Strongly Disagree

2 3 5

Disagree 6 15 21

Neutral 9 12 21

Agree 18 27 45

Strongly Agree 1 7 8

Total 36 64 100


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Majority of the sample population have strongly agreed that mobile marketing is vital for any business and few on them slight disagree to this.Majority of them find receiving advertising such as sms/mms very informative as they are aware of the latest offers and promotions. Even today people prefer the traditional way of shopping that is by going to malls and making their purchases. Majority of the respondents like receiving mobile marketing messages on their devices. The acceptance of marketing messages would be more when the sender seeks permission is most preferred by the respondents according to the study and very few believe that they do not need any permission seeking process to receive messages according to 69% respondents. Acceptance of mobile marketing messages would be more favorable to the respondents when they are relevant to them. When the messages are sent on suitable timings the acceptance of the respondents would be more positive towards these messages. Respondents find it confusing when there are too many details given through advertising. Most of the respondents prefer messages send specific to their locations such as their work place or area of residence. Majority of the respondents find mobile marketing the easiest way of communication between companies and the customer.Very few believe that it is not the easiest way. 34% of the respondents disagree that they feel uncomfortable about the security issues. Majority of the respondents neither agree nor disagree that they forward the message to their friends when they are satisfied with the marketing message. Very few disagree with regarding forwarding messages to their friends. 50% of the respondents agree that it is easier to recall those brands that have sent marketing messages about their service. Very few disagree that they help in recalling brands. Majority of the sample population agree that these messages help in creating a brand image in the minds of the prospects. Majority of the respondents disagree to there is no impact on the customers as Most of the respondents agree that the messages sent on various services offered have made a clear impact on their buying decisions. Only 9% believe that It does not have an impact on the buying decision 53% of the respondents agree that receiving marketing messages of a particular business service sent on mobile devices attracts them to make a purchase and influence their buying decisions.


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Cross tabulations Table 3.36 indicates Professionals have a little more favorable attitude on mobile marketing playing a vital role in marketing than the college students and homemakers. Since professionals are working it is easier and convenient for them to receive marketing messages in their mobile device. HenceAttitude remains unchanged in different occupations. Table 3.38shows that majority of both male and female find mobile marketing is vital for any business as it makes the customers aware about the new products or latest offers. There is a more favorable attitude observed in both males and females towards mobile marketing irrespective of the gender.Hence there is no change in attitude for mobile marketing in gender as both male and female have a positive attitude towards mobile marketing. Conclusion According to the findings, majority of the respondents use mobile devices and hence mobile marketing messages would be an excellent medium to reach the potential customers. Respondents find it very useful and informative when they receive marketing messages in form of sms/mms on their mobile devices as the customers can be kept updated on the latest offers or promotions. The study indicates that mobile advertising is vital for any business. Respondents find mobile marketing the easiest way of communication between companies and the customer.Very few believe that it is not the easiest way. The study shows that there is a positive attitude on receiving mobile marketing messages on mobile devices. The study also shows that marketing messages to recall those brands that have sent to the customers and mobile marketing messages help in creating a brand image in the minds of the prospects. The study indicates customers still prefer Traditional shopping than online shopping even though online shopping is a more convenient option. This maybe they would get better shopping experience from traditional shopping. Acceptance of mobile marketing would be more when the marketing messages are relevant and are sent to the receiver at suitable timings. The acceptance would be more when messages are send specific to their locations such as their work place or area of residence. The sample population prefers mobile marketing messages and is favorable and comfortable with it. The study also concludes that a message sent to the receiver attracts them towards the offers or promotions. The study also concludes that after receiving marketing messages respondents have been attracted but and has an influence or have an impact on their buying intentions. Professionals have a little favorable attitude on mobile marketing playing a vital role in marketing as professionals are working it is easier and convenient for them to receive marketing messages in their mobile device but more or less attitude remains unchanged in different occupations. Suggestions It is advisable for business to adopt mobile marketing as respondents feel mobile marketing the easiest way of communication between companies and the customer.Majority use mobile devices and hence mobile marketing messages would be an excellent medium to reach the potential customers.


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From the study we conclude that mobile marketing messages sent to the customers attracts them towards the offers or promotions. This can be used as a medium to attract customers when there is a new launch product or new features introduced into an existing service. Cross-cultural studies in the area of mobile marketing can also be taken up for further research.

Directions for Future Research Marketing message sent to the receiver attracts them towards the offers or promotions but the study also concludes that it does not influence or have an impact on their buying intentions. A further research can be done on why there is no influence or have an impact on their buying intentions.Cross-cultural studies in the area of mobile marketing can also be taken up for further research.

References hans.H.bauer, s. R. (2005). Driving Consumer Acceptance Of Mobile Marketing:A Theoretical

Framework And Empirical Study. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research .

harpsocial. (n.d.). types of mobile marketing. Retrieved feb 12, 2013, from harpsocial.com:

http://harpsocial.com/2010/03/get-your-business-moving-9-types-of-mobile-marketing/

Ian Phau, M. T. Young consumers’ motives for using SMS and perceptions towards SMS

advertising.

Kaan Varnali∗, A. e. (2012). Mobile marketing research: The-state-of-the-art. International Journal

of Information Management , 144-151.

learnmarketing. (n.d.). Brand strategy. Retrieved march 1, 2013, from learnmarketing.com:

http://www.learnmarketing.net/branding.htm

Melody M. Tsang, S.-C. H.-P. Consumer Attitudes Toward Mobile Advertising:An Empirical Study.

papimedia. (n.d.). types of mobile marketing. Retrieved feburary 14, 2013, from papimedia.com:

http://papimedia.com/11-types-of-mobile-marketing

Philip kotler. (2010). Principles of marketing. Pearson.

Polyzos, C. V. Mobile Marketing Using A Location Based.

Strandvik, K. H. Consumer Responsiveness To Mobile Marketing.

Stuart J, B. E. (2004). Mobile marketing: the role of permission and acceptance. International

Journal Of Mobile Communications .

wikipedia . (n.d.). wikipedia . Retrieved feb 12, 2013, from wikipedia :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_marketing


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Xu, D. J. (2006/2007). “ The influence of personalization in affecting consumer attitudes towards

mobile advertising in china. The Journal of computer information sysytem , 9.

Questionnaire

This survey is been conducted to understand consumer attitude towards mobile

marketing and its impact on consumers. This study focuses on the mobile marketing

communication of various business services in Oman. Your response is very valuable

for this study and will be used only for academic purposes .

Please read the questions carefully before answering. Please tick the appropriate

options:

Sex: Male Female

Age: 18-24 25-35 36-45 Above 45

Nationality: Omani Non Omani

Occupation: College student Professional Homemaker

Self Employed

1. Do you have any of the following devices?

Tablets Smartphones Entertainment players (ipod/others)

GPS devices None of the above More than two devices

2. Have you ever used any of the following?

Mobile banking Online shopping Location based services Scanned QR code (QR- Quick Response Code) None of the above More than two

3. Please tick the appropriate option. 1 being Strongly Disagree and 5 being Strongly Agree.

Strongly

Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly

Agree

I find receiving advertisements as

sms/mms on mobile devices useful

I find Mobile Marketing plays a vital role in

marketing of any business service.


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I find receiving advertisements as

sms/mms very informative and gives me

knowledge about the current offers and

promotions taking place.

Strongly


Strongly

Agree

I respond to the messages I get by further

going online through my mobile devices

and checking for more information.

I like to scan QR codes to view the

advertisements

I find mobile shopping convenient and

entertaining than traditional shopping

I find shopping through mobile devices

interesting and have a positive view.

I find doing banking easier through

mobile applications rather than traditional

methods

I like receiving mobile marketing messages

on my mobile devices

As soon as I get message related to

marketing of any business service I delete

it without reading

I prefer blocking such numbers due to

security reasons

I prefer blocking these numbers as they

are annoying as messages of different

services keep coming all day long.

4. Acceptance: (Please tick the appropriate option)

How many messages on an average/day do you receive on your mobile device? Less than 2 Less than 5 and more than 2

Strongly


Strongly

Agree


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Acceptance of mobile marketing messages

would be more favourable if the sender

gets permission beforehand from the

receiver


would be more if the content of marketing

messages are relevant to me

Strongly


Strongly

Agree


would decrease if the messages are sent

to me at non-suitable timings

Too many details about a service through

advertisement causes confusion


would be more favourable if the marketing

messages are specific to location such as

area of residence or work place.

Mobile marketing is the easiest way of

communication between companies

offering various services and the customer


would be unfavourable to me as I feel

uncomfortable about the security issues

when companies sent messages about

their services

Reading marketing messages through

mobile devices is time consuming

Receiving marketing messages about

services throughout the day creates a

negative impact towards mobile marketing

When I feel satisfied with the marketing

message received on the various services,

I tend to forward it to my friends.

Strongly


Strongly

Agree


62 ISSN 2076-9202

I find it easier to recall those brands who

have send me marketing messages about

their service

When I receive messages about the

various services offered by a service

provider it creates a brand image in my

mind

When I receive messages about the

various services offered by a brand, it does

not have any impact on the brand image.

Strongly


Strongly

Agree

The marketing messages such as sms/mms

send to me on the various services offered

has made a clear impact on my buying

decision

On receiving marketing message of any

particular business service send on my

mobile device attracts me to make a

purchase

I have made a purchase after getting

influenced on receiving marketing

message about a business service on my

mobile device

THANK YOU

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Documents

Consumer Attitudes Toward Mobile Marketing and Customers